“Science should be apolitical. Come on, you all.”
MAHA/MAGA was delivered to us in part by self-proclaimed EBM gurus, respected doctors and famous scientists who claimed to be men of data and evidence (MODE). Though MODEs marketed themselves as neutral defenders of science and sensible, nuanced, apolitical masters of critical appraisal, most of them spread copious COVID misinformation and repeatedly botched basic pandemic facts.
Additionally, MODEs collaborated with and promoted MAHA/MAGA doctors, the failed leaders who wrote glowing homages to Kennedy and professed their devotion to Trump. In contrast, they sanctimoniously scolded those of us who warned of their risks- Science should be apolitical. Come on, you all. Instead of joining us at SBM in opposing MAHA/MAGA, MODEs enabled, aided, empowered, legitimized, and normalized it all.
“Cold plunges, red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, peptides, and stem cells.”
Fast forward to today, and Kennedy is hosting wellness influencers on his podcast to promote, “cold plunges, red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, peptides, and stem cells to exercise, recovery, and metabolic health“. There isn’t much data and evidence to support most of that, is there?
The news headlines reveal Kennedy’s influence on desperate parents. According to an article titled Autistic Children Being Injected With Unapproved Stem Cell Treatments Supported By RFK Jr.:
Clinics in Florida, Texas and other states are selling what they bill as “regenerative medicine” to families with autistic children who have intensive care needs. Parents who have taken their children through the process talked about their hopes and fears for a therapy that appears to be gaining ground in the US.
The procedure, which can involve the child being sedated with ketamine before receiving intravenous doses of millions of stem cells, costs up to $20,000 for each treatment. Families are often advised to return for regular top-ups.
MODEs have nothing to say about any of this. They are totally silent about the quackery they enabled.
Moving forward, “cold plunges, red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, peptides, and stem cells ” and everything else that’s happening to STEM under MAHA/MAGA, is really what MODEs should be known for. Their EBM piety and oh-so brilliant insights about what should happen in medicine can all be discarded in light of what they delivered to us in the real world. That’s all that matters. Their pleas for rigor and data may sound wise, but they were used as cover to advance the MAHA/MAGA agenda, and to paraphrase a famous movie line, if the EBM you followed brought you to this, of what use was the EBM?